- Mexico’s Senate proposes Stable Virtual Assets (AVE) as a legal category for private tokens pegged to the Mexican peso.
- The proposal, openly inspired by the United States’ GENIUS Act, aims to ensure that Mexico “speaks the same language” as its trading partners regarding digital payments.
Mexico’s Senate is considering the country’s most significant digital asset legislative proposal since the 2018 Fintech Law. Senator Alejandro Murat Hinojosa, from the Morena parliamentary group, introduced a bill that would amend and add provisions to ten Mexican financial laws in order to establish a specific prudential framework for so-called Stable Virtual Assets Referenced to the National Currency (AVE), better known as peso-backed stablecoins.
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The proposal defines these instruments as digital payment methods that do not have legal tender status, maintain a 1:1 parity with the Mexican peso, and guarantee immediate convertibility. Only Electronic Payment Fund Institutions (IFPEs) and banking institutions that obtain prior authorization from the Bank of Mexico would be allowed to issue, manage, and offer AVEs to the public.
A Model Inspired by the GENIUS Act
During the Stablecoin Conference 2026, Murat openly stated that the initiative is modeled after the U.S. GENIUS Act. He argued that, in the context of the renegotiation of the USMCA (T-MEC), this presents an opportunity to align digital payments regulation among partner countries.
“The only thing we added beyond the GENIUS Act is the sanctions component,” the legislator explained.
Murat noted that the proposal takes direct inspiration from the U.S. framework because of the high degree of economic integration among Mexico, the United States, and Canada:
“We need to align with that legislation in order to speak the same language.”
Regulatory Architecture: Four Authorities Involved
The initiative distributes responsibilities among several regulators:
- The Bank of Mexico would oversee authorizations, reserves, and convertibility.
- The National Banking and Securities Commission would supervise operations, technological infrastructure, and cybersecurity.
- The Ministry of Finance and Public Credit would participate in anti-money laundering oversight.
- The National Commission for the Protection and Defense of Users of Financial Services would handle consumer protection, complaints, and advertising matters.
Regarding reserves, the proposal is strict: reserves may not be pledged, offset, or reused for purposes other than guaranteeing convertibility. In the event of issuer insolvency, these funds would be excluded from the bankruptcy estate and used preferentially to redeem AVEs held by users.
Criminal Penalties for Unauthorized Issuance
The bill introduces a specific criminal offense. Individuals who issue AVEs without authorization, improperly use reserve funds, provide false information regarding reserve adequacy, or obstruct regulatory supervision could face prison sentences of five to fifteen years and fines of up to fifty thousand times the daily value of Mexico’s Unit of Measurement and Update (UMA).
Market Context
Across Latin America, stablecoins have already surpassed Bitcoin in transactional use, accounting for 40% of all cryptocurrency purchases. In Mexico, that figure stands at 36%.
The Bank of Mexico itself highlighted the growing importance of stablecoins in its Financial Stability Report released last December, particularly noting their role in facilitating remittances.
For now, the proposal adopts a conservative approach focused on the payments system, with the intention of expanding gradually as confidence in the framework grows. Before becoming law and being published in the Official Gazette of the Federation, the initiative must still be reviewed by congressional committees and approved by both chambers of Congress.
